A Serene Island Getaway

Renovating a Luxe Retreat

Story courtesy of In Site Designs | Photography by Carter Tippins Photography

A special renovation project from In Site Designs comes to life as an idyllic private island retreat. This beautifully remodeled home off the South Carolina coast showcases a seamless blend of indoor and outdoor living through thoughtfully layered elements.

In Site Designs was founded in 2005 while Katie Skoloff was completing her final design degree in New York City. She was excited to build a business of her own while living her dream of designing luxury interiors. Her confidence, successful client projects, and plentiful happy recommendations bolstered her growing business. Katie began to bring in additional designers to assist her in serving her growing list of patrons. Since then, there have been a few office relocations and new faces added, but the foundation of designing narrative spaces for people passionate about their interiors, in need of professional execution, has remained the same. In Site Designs is proud to be an all-female company, showcasing the exceptional talent and creativity of women in the field of interior design, including Chisana Hice-Smith, the lead designer and stylist on this project.

Completed in October 2023, this reimagined residence is located on a private, gated island near Beaufort, South Carolina. Originally built in 2000, this home was one of the island’s earliest constructions and remained untouched until the renovation began in May 2022. Nestled on five acres of a private sea island and nature preserve, the 7,600-square-foot property features a two-bedroom main house and a two-bedroom guest house, both meticulously stripped down to the original structure and reworked to fit the homeowners’ preferences, transforming it into a sophisticated coastal retreat perfect for entertaining their large family. The project evolved to embrace the home’s strong architectural features, guiding the design process toward a more casual aesthetic that highlights the integration of the exterior and interior elements.

Notable design details include the original kitchen layout, which was maintained but modified with custom additions, including updated cabinetry, a new ventilation hood, a wall oven (bringing the total to three ovens), and refrigeration drawers. The deep emerald-green soapstone kitchen countertops, original to the home, served as the foundation around which everything else was reconfigured. In the living room, the exposed hand-hewn wood beams, original to the house, were sanded and stained to a darker tone.

Facing the marsh, the home is designed to maximize natural light. Multiple doors offer views through to the marsh, flooding every room with light. Functional French doors with screens enhance the indoor/outdoor living experience, seamlessly blending the interior and exterior environments. The sunroom, serving as a porch that leads from the main bedroom, features a hammock area with shutters for a cross breeze and heaters for year-round use. Low-country metalworker Eloise Pickard designed custom light fixtures to match the updated aesthetic, and custom oak box beams were added in the homeowners’ suite.

The homeowners are a couple who found each other later in life, bringing together diverse backgrounds from different regions of the United States. She hails from a large city in the Southeast, while he comes from the Midwest. Their careers span across distinct fields, with her working in medicine and him in software. Together, they share their home with an English Retriever named Lucy. They are valued clients and dear friends of Hice-Smith, reflecting a relationship built on trust and satisfaction with her work on two previous projects they have undertaken with her. This project not only fulfilled the homeowners’ desire for a sophisticated coastal retreat but also reinforced the strong, collaborative bond between them and Hice-Smith, resulting in a richly layered and experiential home environment.

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